Scottish Government

SECTION 5 FACILITIES ISSUES

Many of the problems clubs face cannot be easily solved. For example, many clubs are in outdated premises, with few resources available to invest. Clubs which hire facilities are to some extent at the mercy of local authorities or landlords.

Our clubhouse / ground / car park is needing attention - what can we do?

Unfortunately, for many clubs, the answer is relatively little. There are only limited amounts of funding available for remedial works, and clubs may find it difficult to raise loan funding. It may be worth identifying some of the ways in which other clubs have addressed this:

Call on volunteers: Some of the clubs which responded to our survey reported achieving quite astonishing things with the help of volunteers. One rugby club and one shinty club, for example, reported that new clubhouses had been built wholly, or largely by volunteers. At a less rarefied level, many clubs call on volunteers for activities as diverse as "litter picks" or "painting parties" (often associated with providing food or fun activities).

Call on trades people who are club members: clubs should, however, be sensitive to the fact that, although joiners / plasterers / plumbers may be club members, they also have a business to run, and may not be able, or willing to provide extensive free assistance to their clubs, particularly if this involves other staff or materials.

Approach a college or employment training programme: colleges and employment training providers rely on work experience and real life examples to provide training to students. It may be possible to find a project within the club which can be carried out by students on work experience (although clubs should be aware of any insurance or supervision requirements imposed by the training provider).

Consider whether a development project may be feasible: for many clubs, a major capital project will be daunting, but help may be available from governing bodies, or through local sports councils to carry out basic feasibility studies, and to assemble the package of works prior to submitting a funding application.

Consider selling assets: although a radical option, some clubs have addressed the need to invest by either selling some assets (for example, land), or by moving lock, stock and barrel to another site (usually funded by a house builder).

Look for "planning gain": in some cases where a housing development is taking place adjacent to a club, clubs have been able to work with the developer to improve their facilities, on the basis that this will help market the development to prospective buyers. This may also be a means of securing support with, for example, access roads and boundary fences (which are unlikely to be readily fundable from other sources).

This is a common complaint of sports clubs throughout Scotland. In some cases, there is little that can be done in the short term except to make elected members and senior managers aware of the issues. Local sports councils work with local authorities to ensure that the sports facilities in their area meet clubs' needs. Again, this is unlikely to be a short- term solution. Some clubs have taken innovative approaches to this problem, and these are worth summarising here:

Work with other clubs to carry out an audit of facilities and prepare a development plan: in one town in Ayrshire, all the football clubs came together and agreed to carry out an audit of football facilities in the town. This was then presented to the local authority. In the event, the clubs then developed their own facilities. A similar approach was undertaken in a town in the Borders, this time involving all sports clubs. This resulted in a statement of needs, which is being carried through by clubs, the local authority and the local sports council (with the support of central agencies in terms of funding).

Consider sharing with another club: some clubs previously based in municipal facilities have agreed ground sharing arrangements with clubs owning their own facilities (to their mutual benefit). A small number of clubs also identified that they had gained access to the facilities of more senior clubs through becoming, in effect, feeder clubs.

Consider buying somewhere: it may be possible to secure support to purchase land to build new facilities.

Enter into an exclusive arrangement with the local authority: although this approach is not always popular with other clubs, it may be possible to enter into an arrangement with a local authority to secure either exclusive or preferential access to a facility.

A long- term access agreement may allow the club to invest in the facilities, even though these are actually owned by the local authority.

Consider a neighbouring area: in our survey of clubs, a small number of clubs identified that they had moved their home base to another town, or another local authority area, in order to secure access to better facilities.